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Tag Archives | lemon zest

Spaghetti with Fresh Peas, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Garlicky Prawns

Fresh peas are packed with flavor

Fresh peas are packed with flavor

We are a big fan of peas in our family and I especially love fresh peas. They are packed with flavor and their brightness and sweetness are so inviting. Peas work particularly well in “Zeytinyaglis”,”Vegetables Cooked in Olive Oil” in Turkish Cuisine, like in this Baby Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil with Peas, Carrots and Almonds. Dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, they are not only very healthy but also very refreshing, a joy to eat during summer time and can be kept in fridge 2-3 days.

Artichokes in olive oil, Em tennis, almond bulgur, lokum first p 015

Artichokes poached in olive oil with peas, carrots and almonds; peas work delicious here too.

I was delighted to see some delicious recipes showcasing fresh peas by one of my favorite chefs & food writer Stevie Parle and our menu was set; Spaghetti with fresh peas, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp. Good tips from Stevie when buying fresh peas; look for pods that are silky-soft, shiny and green; the peas within will not have split yet and should be small, soft and sweet. When they are really good, you can put a bowl of them on the table and you’ll find folks munching away on them with a glass of wine or beer.

Spaghetti with fresh peas, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp

Spaghetti with fresh peas, sun dried tomatoes and shrimp

I added sun dried tomatoes that needed finishing to this recipe; their tangy and sweet flavor worked well with the peas and the garlicky shrimps. I also loved the refreshing lemon zest here and the fact that a freshly cooked delicious meal ready in less than 30 minutes.

Adapted by Stevie Parle’s brown shrimp and pea taglierini 

Serves 3- 4                                            Preparation & Cooking time: 25- 30 minutes

200gr/7 oz. peas

30ml / 2 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes, cut in stripes

1-2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

180gr/ 6 ¼ oz. raw prawns, peeled

Zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon

250gr/ 8 ½ spaghetti

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil to serve – optional

 

Shell the peas and rinse well. Bring a pan of salted water to boil.

Stir in the olive oil in a small saucepan and gently fry the garlic until it just begins to color. Add the prawns and season with salt and a little pepper. Stir and cook for about 2 – 3 minutes, then take the heat off and stir in the sun dried tomatoes, lemon zest and juice.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh peas to the boiling water and cook together for a further of 3-4 minutes, until the spaghetti is just cooked. Drain, reserving a little of the pasta water. Pour the shrimp mixture into the pasta and add a dash of cooking water. Mix everything well, check the seasoning then transfer to plates. You can drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over and serve.

Fresh peas in spaghetti with sun dried tomatoes and garlicky shrimp; a delicious and easy meal

Fresh peas in spaghetti with sun dried tomatoes and garlicky prawns; a delicious and easy meal

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

 

 

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Victoria Sponge Cake with Berries and Lemon Curd & Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

The Market at the Covent Garden, dressed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

It is an exciting time to be in Britain. London will be hosting the 2012 Summer Olympic Games,  we are all counting down the days. But before that, it is the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, that gets us all excited at the moment.  We have been celebrating this remarkable occasion with street parties (apparently over 10,000 all around Britain), and today over 1,000 boats have been on River Thames for the Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant to mark this special occasion, just spectacular.

The Tower Bridge, London. It is a rare sight to see the bridge open up, which we witnessed a few years ago. The Tower bridge is now decorated with blue, red and white lights for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

We were in London yesterday, to soak up this amazing celebratory atmosphere, and I hope these few photos coming up would do justice  to visualise the city, dressed to celebrate.

To join in the celebrations, I made BBC Food’s Victoria Sponge Cake with Berries and Lemon Curd, (adapted from Simon Rimmer’s recipe). Being a lemon fan, I enjoyed the addition of the lemon curd in this recipe. The curd’s zingy taste worked really well with the fresh berries and the mascarpone filling.

Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries

For the Victoria sponge

175g/6oz butter, plus extra for greasing

175g/6oz sugar (I used unrefined golden caster sugar)

lemon, zest and juice

3 free-range eggs

175g/6oz self-raising flour

For the filling

225g/8oz mascarpone

50ml/2fl oz double cream

50g/2oz icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

225g/8oz strawberries, sliced

For the lemon curd:

4 unwaxed lemons, zest and juice

200g/7oz unrefined caster sugar

100g/3½oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3 free-range eggs, plus 1 free-range egg yolk

Raspberries and blueberries to decorate the cake

You’ll need 2 x 22.5cm/9in greased and lined cake tins.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Grease and line the cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, lemon zest and juice until well combined, then fold in the flour.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and remove from the tins once cool.

The lemon zest adds a wonderful tangy flavour to the cake

While the cake is baking, make the lemon curd; put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter into a heatproof bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture every now and again until all of the butter has melted.

It is easy to make lemon curd and it adds a wonderful zesty twist to the sponge cake.

Lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk and stir them into the lemon mixture. Whisk until all of the ingredients are well combined, then leave to cook for 10-13 minutes, stirring every now and again, until the mixture is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the lemon curd from the heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally as it cools. Once cooled, you can spoon the lemon curd into sterilised jars and seal.

For the filling, beat the mascarpone, sugar and cream together until well combined.

Spread the lemon curd onto one of the cakes. Cover with the strawberries, then the mascarpone filling. Place the other cake on top and dust with icing sugar, then decorate with raspberries and blueberries.

Now back to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations; London is a great walking city and walking is one of the best ways to appreciate wonderful sites. We started our walk from the Covent Garden, where the market has been decorated with lots of flags.

Friendly Pimms lady, preparing refreshing drinks at Covent Garden

At the side streets of Covent Garden, we discovered a charming, and one of the best coffee makers in town, The Monmouth Coffee, definetely worth stopping by.

A gem find in Covent Garden; we will be back to Monmouth for more great coffee and pastries

The Sofra Restaurant in Covent Garden also offers genuine Turkish hospitality and wonderful mezzes and Turkish delights for a delicious stop.

Sofra Restaurant in Covent Garden; a delicious stop for Turkish food

From the Covent Garden, we walked to the Trafalgar Square, passing by the National Gallery (which houses the national collection of Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.)

View of Big Ben from the Trafalgar Square

View of Big Ben from the Trafalgar Square

We kept walking from the Trafalgar Square, straight to the Mall, which looked very atmospheric with giant flags at both side. The end of the Mall takes you to the entrance of the Buckingham Palace,  the official London residence of the Queen.

The stage has set up in front of the Buckingham Palace for the Diamond Jubilee Concert

A giant stage has been built for a star-studded concert,  set against the spectacular backdrop of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 60 year reign. The concert will be broadcasted live on Monday, June 4th on BBC1, starting at 7.30pm local time.

And here are a few more photos from our neighborhood Diamond Jubilee Street party;

“Prince Harry” was again at the center of attention

 

Baker Street was full of flags, food stalls, amusements for the children

Tanju Bey (Mr Tanju) is happily grilling kebabs for the crowd

I greatly admire the Queen. On her 21st birthday, the then Princess Elizabeth made a pledge to the Commonwealth: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service..”. 65 years on, the Queen still continues to honor that pledge, by exemplifying sense of duty, compassion, kindness, tolerance, selflessness and respect for all. So admirable, so well worth celebrating.

It is indeed an exciting time to be in Britain.

Long live the Queen!

 

 

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